Review: AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 8GB

#5463223 Posted on: 08/15/2017 02:14 PM

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I think with GDDR6 mass availability hitting in Q1 2018, Volta's consumer oriented stuff was always going to show up then. The average launch cycle for Nvidia has historically been roughly ~10 months, but it's been as long as 14 in some cases.

I'm kind of curious to see how AMD is going to refresh Polaris. Will they wait for Navi in 2019? Or will they cut down Vega next year on 7nm w GDDR6?

#5463230 Posted on: 08/15/2017 02:24 PM

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I think with GDDR6 mass availability hitting in Q1 2018, Volta's consumer oriented stuff was always going to show up then. The average launch cycle for Nvidia has historically been roughly ~10 months, but it's been as long as 14 in some cases.

I'm kind of curious to see how AMD is going to refresh Polaris. Will they wait for Navi in 2019? Or will they cut down Vega next year on 7nm w GDDR6?

I am rather interested what they will do next year with the 7nm also. It might liven up Vega arch. At least they had that in plans for next year I think.

#5463236 Posted on: 08/15/2017 02:42 PM

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No they really haven't. A quarter ago, he said something along the lines nothing will change with Vega release, and that they remain confident in Pascal.

And albeit Huang can sometimes give PR-like statements, but then he smiles and you can see he's half joking, this answer was given in a serious tone.

For me the biggest hint was the amount of 1080Ti AIB models arriving during Vega finishing touches.

Not like it really matters. Pascal GP106 and Polaris10 already give the masses all the performance that is needed now at 1920x1080 (the most popular resolution for gaming). GP104 and Vega give the 2560x1440 crowd a perfect option and GP102 is there for those that want high refresh or 4k. Volta and Navi will not really be "needed" for another 6 months to a year.

As long as developers don't get lazier.

#5463254 Posted on: 08/15/2017 03:27 PM

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Well, i can get £90 for my 970 at this time, so if i can nab a 1070 for say £300 i would grab it, and it would cost me £220 in real cash, but i am in no hurry to do this, the cheaper i can get it the better, but no doubt i will have to catch some site having a deal.

I did the same with this card, i got £80 for my 760, so i got this card for the same £210, and this came in a bundle with a 240 SSD drive and a few games.

So i can wait.

#5463285 Posted on: 08/15/2017 05:32 PM

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If readers here want the very best, irrespective of cost, why are they wasting their time here? Get your PA to order a 1080ti, & replace that in a year.

Then there is the rest of us. Ryzen 6/8 cores may not be 'best' for gaming, but a lot of smart money reckons its the best choice, all considered.

Verdicts so far on vega 56 seem like predicting the outcome of a war from a static snapshot of one aspect of one fluid battle - the cavalry perhaps .

ie. benchmarks on the current crop of games is a ~sole determinant for many reviewers and commenters.

A truism is any game can get playable frames on a half decent rig, its just a matter of compromising some settings.

Oh and BTW, Vega is a fundamental paradigm shift new gen GPU.

I will guess the 1070 chip only manifests in a few products.

In the short time since the inaugural Vega FE, we see, the ~same vega chip in products from $7k usd pro cards (not even including AsusS alleged dual vega gpu 32 lane card), to $400 consumer cards, and a range of vega mobile & desktop APUs by xmas.

ALL simple variants of one stock chip, & using Fabric.

Vega HBCC feature alone is potentially huge. U have heard there is a memory crisis, right? Its not temporary. Production improves, but at a fraction of the rate of processors which demand more of it.

AMD say HBCC can double or triple your gpuS actual vs perceived cache, w/o u noticing, and yet it is barely remarked on by pundits or comments.

U want economical? What better than a 4GB gpu that works like a 8-12GB card?

Conversely, Vega presents the almost unfathomable possibilities of almost infinite gpu workspace. There is already a $7k usd 2TB (yes TB) vega pro card, but with vega & a threadripper & few small cheap striped ~128GB nvme ssds, anybody has this option.

HBCC, as u may know, will intelligently shuffle data for optimal availability, in the most suitable medium in the cache pool. Amd clearly demonstrated its effectiveness by turning the ssd array on and off during a memory maxing task.

A pc is a foundation for present and future solutions. Even if I were a gamer, warts and all, I would take the ~cheapest TR with; 3200 memory, 4K cpu oC, 3+ m.2 nvme ports, vega 56, and make the best cake I can with those ingredients.

Whatever perceived immediate benefits of a system based on a hybrid of products from commercial enemies like Nvidia & intel, & with track records as predators (especially Intel), those advantages will soon be outweighed by the harmonious "greater than the sum of its parts" amd ecosystem using sibling vega and zen.